Tribulations
by TheNewIdea
Summary: Rocket Raccoon sets out to save his old friend and co-pilot, Wal-Russ, from an unknown deadly planet. When it is discovered that the planet is more than it seems, it becomes the ultimate test of willpower and strength for Rocket, and a race against time for the rest of the Guardians as they fight for their own survival.
1. Chapter 1

**Contains one instance of the F word early on. This is solely for the purpose of making a reference.**

Rocket Raccoon stared out into deep space, saying nothing, his face bearing no clear expression. Gamora, who sat behind him, was working on one of Rocket's custom made weapons, trying to figure out how he had managed to construct it in such a short amount of time.

"What are you doing?" Rocket asked, hearing Gamora's tinkering, curiosity getting the better of him.

Gamora shrugged and absent-mindedly handed Rocket the weapon, who upon seeing it, could only smile.

"So you're finally taking an interest in what I do" Rocket replied half sarcastically and half in surprise, "About time if you ask me. So what do you want to know sweetheart? How I transferred the ship's power to create a suitable infinite energy source or how I came up with the idea in the first place. Either way, it's the same answer."

Gamora shook her head, "One" she began defensively, "Don't call me sweetheart. Two- I don't care, I just want to know what it's called."

Rocket rolled his eyes, insulted that Gamora blew him off for a name.

"Call it whatever you want" Rocket answered as he stood up heading for his quarters, "Call it the Big Fucking Gun 3000 for all I care, just don't come crying to me when you can't figure out to work the damn thing."

Gamora sighed, "I didn't mean it that way Rocket" she started to say, but Rocket was already out of the room.

Passing up Drax and Star-Lord, also known as Peter Quill, who were busy playing a game of chess on the dining room in the middle of the ship, Rocket scoffed to himself as he thought about how little attention he received, how little at times he was valued, even by Quill, who he considered to be one of his closest friends.

"What's got you stirred up?" Star-Lord asked, taking a moment from the game and allowing Drax to call checkmate.

Rocket laughed as if he were insulted by the answer, at the same time he shook his head wondering if there was a point to anything anymore and if there was how he could find it. When Quill didn't get a response, he took a wild guess.

"What did she do this time?" he continued

Rocket growled and pointed towards the cockpit. "Keep her away from me Quill" Rocket demanded, "If I so much as see her I'm going to rip out her throat, do you understand? Every time I open up to her she kicks me down without even so much as giving me a chance."

Quill sighed, for he had expected infighting amongst the team but never to this degree. This was the fourth incident with Rocket in the last week alone.

"This keeps up and I'm outta here" Rocket continued, "Do you hear me Quill? I'm done being the only asshole who gives a damn about anything around here. I'm not a people person, you know that, but I at least want to know who I'm fighting with."

Quill nodded in understanding, "Good point" he exclaimed, "So who are we fighting with?"

Drax turned towards Rocket and gave glaring look; Quill shifted his weight and ever so casually folded his arms. Rocket huffed in disbelief, now even more insulted than before.

"You're kidding me right?" Rocket yelled towards Quill, "I'm the victim here!"

Quill shook his head, "You're the one who's being the closed door Rocket, not us. Now, since we're all going to be together for awhile, why don't you start talking?"

Rocket growled again, this time more menacing than the one before, "I don't have to tell you shit Quill. What does it matter anyway? It's the past, it's over now. What matters is the here and now."

Drax rolled his eyes; he saw no point in getting into an argument with Rocket, for it would be a losing battle either way. Rocket slowly walked away, letting Quill's gaze burn into his eyeballs.

"You can't keep avoiding it forever Rocket" Quill replied as he focused back on the game, "It has to come out eventually!"

Rocket ignored him and reached his bedroom door, which upon entering he immediately closed, letting the slam resonate throughout the ship, causing Rocket to become deaf for a few seconds.

Rocket's bedroom was simple; to the immediate right of the door was the bed, opposite this was a small dresser and desk, on which a potted Groot was placed. Rocket's room also had a large window that easily had the best view on the entire ship, at the moment it was looking out into deep space.

Rocket sat on the bed and tried not to cry, Groot, upon seeing Rocket's state, extended his arms to their full extent and wrapped them around the raccoon in a loving embrace.

"You're the only one who understands me Groot" Rocket said softly as he allowed himself to cry, "Promise me you won't leave."

Groot nodded, "I am Groot" he answered.

"I know" Rocket replied with a smile, "I am Groot, you are Groot. We are Groot."

Groot laughed as he broke away, letting Rocket be by himself for a few minutes.

After a few seconds Rocket casually reached under his bed, pulling out a broken picture frame with an intact picture inside. The picture was of Rocket and a walrus; both of them were holding guns and standing on the bridge of a medium sized ship, their faces were of content, if one were to look closely they would be able to find a subtle smile from the walrus, Rocket displayed no such emotion.

"You always were the sensitive type" Rocket said to himself," But you were a good man Wal-Russ, a damn good man."

At that moment Rocket could hear static coming in on his communication link, tuning in to try and locate the signal Rocket heard a voice that he thought he would never hear again, it was muffled but even so he knew.

"Is anyone there?" It asked, "This is...my signal is weak, can only...send help to these coordinates...Longitude 23 North, 78 West...Latitude...South...56..."

Rocket immediately responded, wasting no time in getting information.

"Copy" Rocket replied, "Longitude 23, 78 West. Confirm latitude coordinates ASAP."

A long pause followed, the signal had gone dead for a few moments.

_"Damn it"_ Rocket thought to himself, _"It's too weak. Need something stronger-"_

Moments later Rocket ran into the cockpit, in his hands were com-link and an old shortwave radio, one of Quill's mementos from the 1980s. Absent-mindedly Rocket also brought the picture, which he sat carefully in front of him as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Gamora, in an attempt to apologize to Rocket, placed the weapon that she had been tinkering with earlier in front of him, which he immediately began to taking apart; scrapping whatever he thought could be of use in order to make a communications array. When this was done, Rocket tried the signal once again, it was still weak, but it was significantly better.

"This is the Captain of _Rack n' Ruin_ requesting identification" Rocket began, "Please respond, over."

A long silence followed this one longer than the first. After ten seconds of dead air, Rocket got the response he had been waiting for.

"I had a feeling it was you Rocket" the voice replied, "First Mate Wal-Russ reporting in with a handful of survivors looking to be saved."

Rocket silently cheered to himself at hearing Wal-Russ' voice, giving the raccoon a sense of fulfillment that was long overdue.

"Copy that Wal-Russ" Rocket answered, "Give us your location."

Wal-Russ sighed reluctantly, as if he neglected to give some crucial detail.

"That's the thing sir" Wal-Russ explained, "I don't know where the hell I am. Somewhere outside the Keystone Quadrant that much is certain, as for the planet...well I've never seen anything like it before."

Quill and Drax, who were now in the room, stared intently at Rocket, trying to make sense of the situation, upon hearing Rocket's reply, Quill shook his head in denial.

"We can't" he began, "We don't where they are and even if we do find the planet who knows how many they have."

Wal-Russ, who could hear Quill as a muffled voice, responded as quickly as he could, "There are four of us including myself" he answered, "We can find space in the cargo hold, please...don't leave us here to die."

Rocket turned towards Quill, his eyes pleading to agree. Quill remained stoic, his face giving no clear expression. The raccoon then turned towards Drax, hoping to find a friend behind them, he would get no such luxury.

"Come on guys" Rocket said, now begging, "We have to help them."

Drax rolled his eyes, "And why should we?" he asked, "What have they done for us?"

Rocket pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Drax's head, causing the latter to pull his knife.

"I'll have you know that it is because of the voice on the other end that I am even alive today" Rocket explained, "We've been through hell together, fought legions of men back to back. There's no one I would rather risk my life for, Groot being the only exception."

Rocket then addressed the room, slowly holstering his weapon at the same time.

"I don't care if you idiots are with me or not" he concluded, "But either way I'm going to find Wal-Russ and I'm bringing him and anyone with him back. He doesn't deserve to die out there, not without me."

The signal went dead once more. Nothing but static could be heard, in dismay Rocket turned off the communications array and made his way towards the door.

"What's it going to be Peter?" Rocket asked hopefully, "Are we going to save my friend? Or are you going to lose one?"

Quill said nothing and simply watched as Rocket walked back to his room, the raccoon's tail dragging the ground in hopeless defeat. Before he could get out of earshot, Quill stopped him.

"What's the Rack n' Ruin?" he asked curiously

Rocket sighed, hating himself that he had allowed this to happen, to avoid further conflict Rocket gave a simple answer to a complicated question.

"It's a starship asshole" Rocket replied, "Or more accurately, it was a starship. It's gone now, what does it matter to you anyway? You'd only shit on it, just like you shit on me, telling me that I have to open up myself. Who in the hell made you King of the Universe? What gives you the right to break into my life, to know every detail, every goddamn thing that happened to me? You don't have the right!"

Quill hung his head in shame, Rocket wasn't done yet, not even close, still Rocket found himself standing in the hallway saying nothing, letting the silence of the ship speak for him. After a few seconds Rocket turned back towards his room and closed the door once more.

Quill turned to the cockpit and immediately turned on the array, static was all that was heard, he turned to Drax.

"Check the suits" he commanded, "See if any of them are still working."

Quill then turned to Gamora

"Set a course for the Keystone Quadrant. Hopefully we'll get a better signal once we're there. In the meantime, work on your people skills and figure out a proper apology."

Gamora nodded and piloted the ship around doing as she was told, she wasn't exactly sure about the apology part, she figured that she would get to that in due time.


	2. Chapter 2

A knock on the door woke Rocket from a restless sleep. Opening the door, Rocket was face to face with Drax, who was holding Rocket's spacesuit which was folded as neatly as possible.

"Thanks" Rocket said as he took the suit and casually put it on.

Drax smiled and gave a short laugh, "Don't mention it. You're the lucky one; remember that firefight we have with those ravagers?"

Rocket nodded, he remembered the day as if it was yesterday, which wasn't too far to begin with being that the fight was three days ago.

"The ship suffered some heavy damage" Drax continued, "Most of our supplies are destroyed, including our suits. Yours was the only one that was salvageable, which means after this we'll be making another trip to Knowhere."

Rocket rolled his eyes in annoyance, for he absolutely hated Knowhere, the only good thing about it was the bars and the strippers that came in them; everything else was secondary in comparison.

"Whatever Drax" Rocket replied as he walked out the door." Just do me a favor and stay out of my way and we'll get along just fine."

Drax laughed, "Stop hiding your feelings Rocket" he exclaimed, "It's not like you're afraid of attachment or anything."

Rocket stopped and hung his head, letting out a deep sigh, for this was exactly on what he was afraid of.

"This'll be good for me" Rocket said to himself, "Get me away from these idiots for awhile. Catch up on some things with Wal-Russ, just like old times."

Drax shook his head, "You can't hang on to the past. Eventually you have to let go...don't be like me..."

Rocket huffed, annoyed that Drax was getting into his personal affairs, "And who said I was like you? What in anyway makes me like you?"

Gamora walked in the room, upon seeing Rocket, she decided to take Quill's advice and belt out her apology. Before she could even so much as try anything, Rocket held up his hand, stopping her.

"Save it sweetheart" Rocket exclaimed, "Whatever you have to say you can say it when I'm gone. Give me the common courtesy of not having to look at you any more than necessary."

Gamora nodded and shook it off, on the inside she was crying; she decided to repress her tears with information.

"We've just reached the outskirts of the Keystone Quadrant" Gamora began, "If I was you, I'd call your friend. Maybe we can pinpoint his location."

Rocket said nothing, ignoring Gamora as if she wasn't present. Still, he made his way to the cockpit; Quill was sitting in the captain's chair waiting patiently.

"Are you ready to open up now?" Quill asked as Rocket prepared the communications array once again.

"Not even close" Rocket replied, "Maybe, once all of this is over, I might tell you one thing about my past, but that's it. But that's only if we get out of this, we die, well, there's not much need for that kind of conversation now is there?"

The array buzzed and hummed as it searched for the signal. Rocket silently began praying to himself that the signal could be found before it went completely dead.

"Come on Wal-Russ" Rocket said to himself, "Where are you?"

Quill casually looked out the window; in the distance he could see a lone planet. The planet, from this distance, was brown, not a single patch of green to be found. In terms of size it was little larger than Earth, but not by much. As they ever so slowly approached the planet, Rocket's array went off, Wal-Russ' voice could be heard once again.

"Rocket" Wal-Russ began, "If you're out there there's a few things you should know."

Rocket leaned in intently, "What's the situation?" he asked concern in his voice.

"I've been doing some scouting detail down here" Wal-Russ continued, "I've discovered several starships, most of them completely destroyed, with barely any traces of em to be found."

Rocket was beginning to get impatient, remembering that Wal-Russ had a sense of drama and as a result, had developed a tendency to withhold crucial information.

"What's your point?" Rocket pressed, easing Wal-Russ on.

Wal-Russ laughed, also remembering his sense of drama and Rocket's dislike of it, "The ones I found mostly intact had no signs of battle. That only leaves one thing, they crashed landed here."

Rocket thought that Wal-Russ was being obvious but decided for the sake of his friend to say nothing and let him have his way with things.

"I think it has something to do with the gravity" Wal-Russ suggested, "The air doesn't feel right here...almost wrong somehow."

Rocket was about to tell Wal-Russ that gravity has nothing to do with the quality of the air when Gamora, who was sitting at her computer at this point busy scanning the planet for information, came up with results.

"He's right" Gamora added, "The gravitational pull, stronger than anything I've ever seen before. We get too close and we're going right down to the surface."

Rocket nodded, he was starting to put the pieces together, _"Which explains why they can't get off"_ he thought, _"This is going to be fun."_

Wal-Russ gave a deep sigh, for this was the last thing that he wanted to hear.

"Don't worry about us Rocket" Wal-Russ exclaimed, "We'll make do for as long as we can, but at this rate we won't last much longer. Two weeks tops..."

Rocket shook his head, refusing to give up so easily. "I'm coming down there" Rocket declared, "I won't leave you to die, not while I have anything to say about it."

Wal-Russ laughed, amazed at Rocket's stubbornness, "You'll die as soon as you set off that ship Rocket!" Wal-Russ said, practically screaming, "You know that, you'll be in the same boat as me."

Rocket began to pace nervously, in his head he began to think of ways to get Wal-Russ off the surface without getting too close, he saw no alternative without putting the lives of the Guardians in danger, so he did the only thing he could do. Without saying anything Rocket dismantled the array, retrieved his com-link and placed back in his ear. Absent-mindedly Rocket then gathered what materials he could- his weapons, ammunition, the picture of him and Wal-Russ and finally a golden cross necklace, before entering the small hangar bay in the back of the ship.

Groot, who had worked his way out of the pot and was significantly taller, was standing in front of the entrance ramp to one of the smaller ships blocking Rocket's path.

"I am Groot" Groot exclaimed

Rocket rolled his eyes, "No you cannot come with me" he replied.

Groot slumped his shoulders in disappoint, he looked as if he were about to cry, "I am Groot" he whined, "I am Groot."

Rocket shook his head, "I know you do, believe me buddy if there was any other way I would take it in a heartbeat...But there isn't another way, I have to do this."

Groot embraced Rocket as tightly as he could, promising himself that he would never let go, Rocket however, immediately broke it, pushing Groot off.

"Enough Groot" Rocket continued, "You're embarrassing yourself."

Groot shook his head, denying Rocket and embracing him once again, "We are Groot...We are Groot."

Rocket nodded rapidly, wanting nothing more than at this point to be free of the walking tree, in his heart he knew that he was nodding for another reason.

"That's right" Rocket replied, "We are family aren't we?"

Quill, Drax and Gamora found themselves standing at the entrance of the hangar bay.

"You sure about this?" Quill asked worriedly, "If you do this, there's a good chance you won't come back."

Rocket shook this off playfully, "Come on Quill, it's me we're talking about here. I'll be okay."

"If anyone can find a way it's you" Drax added, "It has been an honor."

Rocket smiled, "Yes it has" he replied as Groot stepped aside, clearing Rocket's way.

Gamora stepped forward, before she could continue, Rocket stopped her with the simple raising of his hand.

"Don't even bother" Rocket said coldly, "You've already said enough."

Gamora shook her head; she was not going to be stopped again, especially by the likes of Rocket.

"You're the biggest idiot I've ever met" Gamora chastised, "But I have to say-"

Rocket was busy checking his communications systems and only half listening to Gamora's half assed apology. He found Wal-Russ' signal and walked up the ramp before she could continue, wasting no more time for sentiment. Gamora huffed as Quill opened the bay doors, allowing Rocket to head into deep space.

"Don't worry" Quill said encouragingly, "You'll get your chance."

Gamora nodded, "Yeah" she exclaimed sadly, "In about a hundred years."

Drax laughed, "Rocket's stubborn, but he's not that stubborn."

Groot begged to defer, but kept silent, knowing that no one would understand him anyway. After a short amount of time watching Rocket until his ship was nothing more than a blimp, they closed the bay door and headed for the cockpit to continue their daily duties.


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting down in front of a meager campfire, Wal-Russ sighed as he shook his head in disbelief. He knew that Rocket was going on a suicide mission, but even so if Rocket did make it to the surface, Wal-Russ figured that at the very least he could die with his best friend.

_"Idiot"_ Wal-Russ thought to himself, "_Risking his life for me, hasn't changed a bit. Still the same old Rocket, as stupid and stubborn as ever."_

Looking around, Wal-Russ took a shallow breath; the air was thin as if he were on a mountaintop. The dust that surrounded him, and covered the land, was thick, making the air worse than it already was. Wal-Russ put his helmet back on his head and began to breathe easier, he knew that he had to converse what oxygen he had, which is why he mostly stuck to the air on the planet, for it was breathable, but only just.

"Not much time" Wal-Russ exclaimed as he rubbed his tusks, looking at the old CV radio that was currently serving as the communication between himself and Rocket. Granted, the radio was hooked up to a broken tower that once belonged on a cruiser via a decent generator, but that was beside the point. Picking up the receiver Wal-Russ tried once again to deter Rocket from heading to the surface.

"Listen Rocket" Wal-Russ began, "That thing I was telling you about? Well here it is. This place...it does something to you. It's difficult to explain, but I'll try as much as I can."

Wal-Russ waited several seconds, hoping that Rocket would respond. He was met with silence. The walrus hung his head in defeat deciding to continue for the sake of himself and the hope that eventually Rocket would be able to hear him.

"Angel's here" Wal-Russ continued, "I'm trying to do what you told me. Trying to keep her safe, she's holding out as best she can but...I don't know. She's getting worse every day. I'm not much better to tell you the truth..."

Wal-Russ could hear a gargling sound coming from the other end; he leaned intently, hoping that Rocket was trying to establish communication.

"Wal-Russ" It was Quill, "This is Star Lord of the Guardians of the Galaxy, can you give us your location?"

Wal-Russ shook his head, he felt like he was repeating himself, in honesty he was.

"Negative" Wal-Russ answered, "All I can tell you is that we're on the west side of the planet."

Quill gave a deep sigh, "Is there anything down there that can help us, landmarks or something?"

Wal-Russ shook his head again, "Nothing" he replied, "The whole planet's a desert. Rocket's walking into a deathtrap coming here...the land...t's almost like it knows we're here. Call me crazy Star-Lord, but I think the planet's trying to kill us."

Wal-Russ looked to right, his eyes falling upon the charred remains of one of the survivors. All that could be found was a golden cross necklace that hung around the neck. Wal-Russ looked down at his own neck, seeing the necklace around it, he couldn't help but smile. He remembered where he got it and what it was for- bravery and honor beyond the call of duty. Wal-Russ knew that there were other reasons behind the necklace, but that was the simplest one.

"Your name is Peter right?" Wal-Russ asked curiously, hoping to strike up a conversation in order to avoid the topic at hand.

Quill stopped for a moment, trying to figure out why Wal-Russ asked the question to begin with. While he was thinking, white noise coming from the receiver filled the air, bringing Wal-Russ unwanted memories of the first nights on the surface.

"Yes it is" Quill answered finally, "What's yours?"

Wal-Russ laughed casually, surprised that Quill even asked the question, for he obviously heard it enough through his conversations with Rocket to know who he was, even so Wal-Russ answered the question.

"Family and close friends call me Wally" Wal-Russ replied, "I've always liked that."

Quill returned Wal-Russ' laugh, "Does Rocket call you that?" he continued.

Wal-Russ huffed, he knew as well as anyone that Rocket wasn't the one for nicknames; still Wal-Russ found himself nodding.

"He's only ever called me Wally one time" Wal-Russ began, "When the Rack exploded. When we were sure that we were dead. I remember exactly what he said to me...He said, "I'll probably never get this chance again, so I want you to know now. I love you Wally, you're like the brother I never had but always wanted..."

The radio fell silent for a few moments; Quill had left the array for a moment. In his place was Gamora, who was hoping to get in touch with Rocket to give her apology. Wal-Russ continued without incident, despite the fact that for a few moments he was talking to nothing.

"Do you know what I said? I said to him, "You're the biggest idiot I've ever known. But you know what? I'd rather die with the stupidest person in the galaxy than live with the smartest one. Because stupid people know how to live, they take risks, charge in with their head on and don't take shit from nobody. In short, I love you too.""

Wal-Russ let out of the receiver to hear a response, he was met with silence, which he greeted with silence, ultimately turning off the radio, saving what battery it had for any emergency broadcast should the need arise.

Standing up and dusting himself off, which proved to be a futile effort, Wal-Russ turned left towards a group of small huts. The huts were made out of various scrap from the starships Wal-Russ found while scavenging. Modeled after the Native Americans of Earth, for Wal-Russ had learned of human culture from the Xandarian scientists who "created" him, the huts were crude in design, most of the materials specifically coming from wings and jet engines. Wal-Russ', who despite being a walrus and thus in need of space, had one of the smaller wing huts, in comparison to Angel, a raccoon, who had a larger engine hut.

"So what's the plan Grand Master?" Angel said sarcastically as Wal-Russ walked past.

Wal-Russ shook his head, "As it stands your boyfriend's alive" he answered, "Don't know for how long, but apparently he's coming to save us."

Angel, at the mentioning of Rocket, huffed in disbelief, "Please. Rocket's saving us? I'll believe when I see it big guy. I'd be more surprised if Captain Marvel comes down, he might be of use."

Wal-Russ groaned at the mentioning of Captain Marvel, for he personally couldn't stand the guy, mostly because he made fun of the Rack n' Ruin, had attempted to discredit Rocket and himself for their accomplishments and spent more time in the Milky Way Galaxy than in Andromeda.

"Marvel can't us help now" Wal-Russ declared, "Not like he would anyway. Not for a bunch of animals, Rocket and his Guardians of the Galaxy are our only hope."

Angel laughed, ruffling her fur in the process and straightening herself out. "The Guardians of the Galaxy?" she replied, "Is that what they are? Some guardians they turned out to be. Half of the planets in Keystone are destroyed, no thanks to them."

Wal-Russ huffed and rolled his eyes, "I told you Angel, the Guardians can't be there for everything. Besides those planets were accidents and the causalities were minimal, dare I say acceptable for a planet."

Angel stood up and slapped Wal-Russ as hard as she could, which was considerably hard, for Angel, despite her name, was no saint and had just as bad a record, if not worse, than Rocket's.

"How can you say that?" Angel asked, "When is any causality an acceptable one?"

Wal-Russ shrugged, for the answer was an easy one but not one that was understood by all.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" Wal-Russ declared, "Put that on a planetary scale with millions of billions of people and that's pretty good. At the end of the day you have to make the hard choices and that means doing hard things, taking a life, or several, may be one of them."

Angel stopped listening to Wal-Russ after he quoted the overused, often misquoted and misinterpreted phrase and simply turned her attention to other more important things, like what she was going to say to Rocket when he arrived and what she would feel.

"What do you think about all of this Wally?" Angel asked, changing topics, "I mean why did Rocket choose to help us now? To come back now, it doesn't make any sense."

Wal-Russ shrugged again, he had his own guesses as to what Rocket's reasoning was, for the moment he kept these to himself and simply decided to head for his hut to catch some much needed sleep. Just as Wal-Russ laid down to rest, Angel stood up and made her way towards the campfire, she casually turned on the radio and listened. After a few seconds of dead air, like always, Gamora's voice could be heard through the receiver.

"I don't who you are" Gamora began, "I don't know why I'm even talking to you but I need to talk to someone and you're the only one I can trust right now."

Angel nervously stared at Wal-Russ' hut, knowing that Gamora was really talking to him and not her, still Angel remained motionless, pulling out a combat knife that she had hidden in her boot.

"It must be difficult" Gamora continued, "Being there, in that place. Surrounded by nothing...How do you do it? Stay positive, keep focused?"

Angel didn't have an answer for this, at least not an immediate one, and kept it to herself.

"Quill says that the best thing we could do when we're down is to sing." Gamora suggested, "Do you know any songs?"

Angel knew plenty of songs, but she was not a singer by any means. If Angel were in a band, she would be the drummer, silent but big, carrying the rhythm and the heavy sound that drove the music and pulling the group in a particular direction. In other words, Angel was the muscle, the heavy hitter.

Gamora waited a few seconds, when she got nothing she simply decided to start singing, hoping that eventually the idea would catch on.

_"You and I must make a pact. We must bring salvation back. Where there is love, I'll be there."_

Angel rolled her eyes, for she hated sentiment in all its forms, the only exception, and in only in the most extreme cases, would be from Rocket or Wal-Russ. In Rocket's case Angel knew that the sentiment was ultimately for his own personal needs, the relationship was in many cases secondary. If anything the only reason they stayed together was for practicalities sake, both of them agreeing that if the universe ended and they were the last of their kind that they would slowly repopulate the galaxy with their species. In Wal-Russ' case Angel suspected, for she wasn't 100% sure of his intentions, it was a brotherly love. Despite Wal-Russ having taken care of Angel for what would have been two and a half years, she never really took the time to get to know the walrus, mostly because she was too busy trying not to die to get past the awkward small talk phase of the relationship.

"Look sister" Angel began, cutting Gamora off, "I don't do the whole singing thing. It's uncomfortable. Especially in my line of work, I'm sure you can understand, being a whore and everything. But I don't do anything-"

Wal-Russ shot up, hearing Angel's words he ran towards the fire and placed his hand over her mouth.

"Angel!" Wal-Russ screamed, "Remember...Positivity! You've seen what happened to the others, what this place does."

Angel rolled her eyes and gently removed Wal-Russ' hand, "Do you think I give a damn if a planet has emotional problems?"

Wal-Russ shook his head out of pity, "In case you haven't noticed, this planet feeds off of negative energy. Every thought you have, even if it's the slightest bit mean, rude, sarcastic or anything, it takes and uses against you."

Angel laughed, "If that's true than Rocket's going to be dead the first five seconds he's here. Might as well agitate it enough to kill us, make it easier."

Wal-Russ rolled his eyes annoyingly, "That's fine for you" he replied, "But I made a promise to Rocket and I intend on keeping it. My job is to keep you safe and that's what I'm going to do until Rocket gets here, and he will be here."

Angel huffed as she made her way back to her hut, "You don't know Rocket then, not like I do. The minute he figures it out he's going to put a bullet in his head and you're going to be left alone with no one. I'm not dying for you and I'll be damned if I'm dying for him."

"He would" Wal-Russ answered, "I bet you he'd die a hundred million times for you, because you don't know him like I do sweetheart. Rocket's not a bad person, he's just different. He struggles with who he is, with what he is, I know because I do the same."

Angel brushed Wal-Russ' words as if he never said them. Wal-Russ saw no point in continuing the conversation and so left it where it was, unfinished. Picking up the receiver, Wal-Russ decided to make something in the way of an apology, but first he decided to introduce himself.

"Sorry about that" the walrus said, putting on some charm, "She's different...The name's Wal-Russ, some people call me Wally."

He let go of the receiver to hear a response, instead he heard dead air with the occasional white noise creeping in-the signal was going out. To save his own heart Wal-Russ turned off the radio once again and stared at the fire as he took his helmet off and inhaled nothing but dust.


	4. Chapter 4

Standing in the cargo hold, Drax looked about the ship, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do his work. Drax was responsible for supplies, particularly the food, at the moment they had enough to last them a few days before they would have to make the trip to Knowhere to resupply. Drax thought about Wal-Russ' suggestion, how they could stay in the cargo hold when they were found. Taking this in, Drax began organizing the crates and racks that were placed around the room, as if Drax knew that this mission was going to be a success.

Groot was standing at the cargo hold door with a saddened, almost defeated look on his face. He didn't understand why Rocket was doing what he was doing. The only thing that Groot knew was that he was alone, for Rocket was the only one who understood him, the only one he could have conversations with. Groot had contemplated the possibility of learning English, so far he was unsuccessful in this endeavor.

"I am Groot" Groot exclaimed as he wiped his eyes, "I am Groot."

Drax looked up and nodded, for it was obvious that Groot was hurting, in many ways he was hurting in the same way, for he had come to like Rocket, seeing him as something of a little brother.

"I know what you mean" Drax replied, "I miss him too. But we mustn't loss hope, not now. He's going to need all the help he can get."

Groot turned his head slightly to the right in confusion, "I am Groot?" he asked.

Drax laughed, once again, guessing as to what Groot was saying instead of actually understanding him. "Rocket's efficiency with weapons will not be enough my friend" Drax explained, "His mind must be strong too. It is the key to surviving anywhere."

Groot shook his head, upon hearing this he knew that the chances of seeing Rocket again were close to zero. Resigning himself to this fate, Groot sat down on the floor and cried to himself. Drax respectfully left him alone and continued with his mundane task of organizing what supplies they had.

"Transmission coming in from Knowhere" Quill yelled from the cockpit, "I think its Cosmo."

Drax rolled his eyes and stood up, making his way to the front of the ship.

"What does that mutt want now?" Drax asked as he reached Quill's side.

Quill shrugged, Cosmo, an unofficial member of the Guardians, usually only contacted them when the situation on Knowhere was more than he could handle, which meant that it could literally be anything.

Gamora, who was sitting by the array, pulled up galaxy map, upon which she switched over to the phone line, bringing up a visual of Cosmo. Cosmo was sitting on a rolling chair in front of a desk, he was dressed in a space suit. Inside of his right ear was an earpiece. Behind him and slightly to his right, Corpsman Dey and a second dog were busy talking about the issue with Nova Prime, who was slowly dying, and what Xandar's next moves would be in the event.

"Star-Lord" Cosmo began, "This is Cosmo. Things aren't looking too good here, we need you back ASAP."

Quill shook his head reluctantly, "Can't do that Cosmo. Rocket's gone on personal business, we're waiting for him."

Cosmo rolled his eyes, "Then I'll just have to settle with the four of you. Knowhere is going downhill. Nova Prime is dying, the people here are in frenzy, riots are happening every five minutes and that damned Collector is back to his old ways."

Quill sighed, "You're just going to have to deal with it yourself Cosmo" he exclaimed, "We're kinda busy."

Cosmo growled annoyingly, "I'm only one dog Quill! I can't do everything around here, I've got civilian detail! Dey over here-"

Cosmo gave a glaring look Dey's way but said nothing, "Can't be bothered to do his job, protecting people, which leaves me to pick up the dog shit? How is that fair?"

Drax laughed, "Cosmo you never fail to split my side. Don't change, please for me."

Cosmo huffed, "I'm serious Drax this is getting out of hand. Sooner or later they're going to stop playing nice and break down the door! I don't care where Rocket is, get your asses here now or I'm having Dey void your pardons, then what are you going to do?"

Quill sighed, without thinking he hung up. Quill then put on his headphones, blocking out the world around him. Levon by Elton John was playing, it wasn't exactly his forte, but he found it soothing nonetheless. Drax, who could hear the music through the headphones, for they weren't exactly the good kind that blocked sound effectively, swayed back and forth to the music despite the fact that Levon wasn't exactly a swaying type of song.

_"He was born to a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas Day, when the New York Times says God is dead and the war's begun. Alan Tostig has a son today..."_

The array came on suddenly, after pushing through the noise, Rocket's voice could be heard.

"Hello?" Rocket began; his voice was hoarse and barely audible, "Hello? Anyone there? Quill...Groot? Please for the love of God pickup..."

Gamora, being the only one who was listening, picked up the receiver and answered him.

"Rocket, its Gamora, everything alright?"

Rocket huffed annoyingly, for she was the last person he wanted to talk to, yet still, for the sake his situation he complied.

"The landing was rougher than it needed to be" Rocket answered, "I feel like I'm about to pass out. The air, it's thin, almost too thin. I can barely see...how did they survive this long?"

Gamora did not have an answer to Rocket's question and so remained silent...

Rocket's ship landed in a small dried up lake, the impact producing a small steep crater. Looking around, Rocket clutched his chest in extreme pain, in his hands was a small piece of metal covered in blood that had missed his heart by mere centimeters. After doing some basic surgery and giving himself a good thirty stitches, Rocket climbed out of the crater to get a good look at his surroundings.

"I think I lost a drop or two of blood" Rocket continued, wincing with each passing word, "It hurts to breathe. I'll be okay...just get me Wal-Russ' coordinates."

Rocket took his first steps in what he assumed to be a forward direction, his vision was blurred and all sound had become muffled.

"So this is what it feels like to die" Rocket said to himself, "How sad."

"Rocket" Gamora began, "Head due west. Wal-Russ' signal came from that direction."

Rocket nodded in understanding and slowly pulled himself together, shaking his head periodically to try and stay awake for as long as possible.

"How far?" Rocket asked weakly as he coughed up blood.

White noise filled the air, deafening Rocket for a few seconds; Gamora came back on a few minutes later. Rocket had remained motionless, deciding not to move until he was given all the information necessary and to give himself time to recover from the landing.

"You've got a long journey ahead of you" she replied, "700 miles easy, maybe more depending on the terrain."

Rocket groaned, the pain was getting worse, slowly, but with purpose, the raccoon began to move.

"What terrain?" Rocket asked as he carefully looked around, "There's nothing here but open plains. The planet's dead...whatever life was here is long gone."

Rocket swore he heard a roar coming from behind; he shook it off as simply hearing things, the result of slipping into shock.

"Passing out now" Rocket declared as he lost his vision, his body hitting the ground on the hard rock with a violent thud, causing the raccoon's pistol to become detached ultimately landing a few feet from the crater accidentally discharging.

"Rocket!" Gamora screamed, "Stay with me, everything's going to be okay, but you have to stay awake."

Rocket's subconscious heard this but did nothing, simply allowing Rocket to remain where he was, passed out on an unknown planet next to a crater as he slowly bled out from his injury.


	5. Chapter 5

The last time Rocket saw her it was the end of the world, or at least the world that he knew. The Rack n' Ruin had suffered heavy damage from the escape on Halfworld, the scientists refusing to give up their experiments so easily. After breaking through the first blockade, set up by Nova Core and what little Halfworld militia there was, and coming upon the second, Rocket and Wal-Russ were faced with an ultimate decision.

The sirens that blared throughout the ship told the crew that it would be minutes before the ship would run out of fuel, since they were still well within the planet's gravity and still under heavy fire, such an event would be fatal.

"There's only one thing we can do" Rocket said as he nervously looked over the computers, "One of us is going to have to stay...detach the landing module manually."

Wal-Russ shook his head, "There has to be another way!" he exclaimed, "We've come too far, fought for too long to simply end it here. Not while we're so close."

Rocket sighed and patted his friend's shoulder as gingerly as he could; the raccoon's whiskers drooped towards the ground, his tail collecting dust on the floor in defeat.

"No" Wal-Russ continued, "I'll do it. You go Rocket...you live. Let me die, let me die so I can be with my family again."

Angel appeared from the back of the ship, she was carrying in her hands a charred doll that one of the refugees had given it to her just before she was blown up during the escape. Before she died, the refugee explained that it had always given her luck and wished the same for Angel. Angel did not believe in luck, for she was not superstitious, even so a part of herself wanted to believe that somehow, someway they would make it out alive.

"What's the plan?" Angel asked as she placed the doll in her backpack only to close it once more.

"We need someone to release the module" Rocket explained as he piloted the ship away from blaster fire, returning some of his own and dodging an oncoming asteroid.

Angel looked around the room for the release handle, finding it, rather inconveniently, on the control panel at the front of the ship where Rocket was standing. Instinct told her that since Rocket was standing there to begin with that he should be the one to pull it, but a stronger force told her something else.

"Damn it" Rocket screamed to himself, "We'll never get out of here at this rate. The blockade's too strong. We have to move now!"

Angel nodded and ran towards the release, before he hand could touch it, Rocket grabbed her wrist stopping her where she was.

"I can't let you do that" Rocket declared, "You'd die."

Angel huffed in disbelief, "Yeah, what are you going to do then? You push that button and you're dead."

Rocket smiled and gently brushed Angel's fur back, revealing her eyes. "You've been good to me" Rocket continued, "Too good. What is it? The thing that made you fall in love with me?"

Angel growled annoyingly, for she hated whenever the L word was used.

"Who said it was love" Angel replied, "It's just business remember?"

Wal-Russ exited the room, deciding to give Rocket one final moment. No sooner did the walrus leave did Rocket draw Angel close and displayed his first real emotion in terms of the relationship. The explosion of the asteroid directly in front of them cut the kiss short and personified it at the same time. Rocket broke away, pulled out a small note, threw in Angel's backpack and jerked her towards the module. He waited twenty seconds before pushing the button. As Rocket saw the tiny craft break the barrier, the raccoon turned on his com-link to say his final goodbyes as the Rack n' Ruin, crippled but not destroyed, fell to the surface of Halfworld.

"Angel" Rocket began, "Don't make promises you can't keep. You and I both know that I'm never coming back. It'd be a miracle if I survived this at all."

Angel huffed over the receiver, "Shut up Rocket" she replied, "You talk too much, feel too little and never think."

Rocket laughed to himself, for he had to agree, "You're the thinker remember? I'm just the guy you need to make little bastards that humans call children. I'm nothing. A worthless, gutless piece of shit with no moral code and few loyalties, I can't be counted on-"

Wal-Russ cut in at this point, refusing to hear Rocket beat himself up for situations beyond his control.

"Sir" the walrus began, "As your friend I order you to stop talking like that."

Rocket, for the sake of the situation decided to let Wal-Russ' comment pass. "Take care of Angel for me" Rocket pleaded, "She's a valuable business asset."

Wal-Russ thought it was strange how Rocket didn't openly declare his affection for Angel, or that Angel did the same for Rocket. He assumed that their relationship was of a different kind, one based on action instead of words. Rocket let out a deep sigh before continuing.

"I'll probably never get this chance again, so I want you to know now. I love you Wally, you're like the brother I never had but always wanted. I'll know you'll do me proud, you always have. I know you'll care take of Angel as if she were your flesh and blood. Don't ever change."

Silence filled the air; white noise could be heard as the ship entered into free fall, at the mercy of the planet's gravity.

"You're the biggest idiot I've ever known" Wal-Russ answered, "But you know what? I'd rather die with the stupidest person in the galaxy..."

Rocket was only half listening to Wal-Russ' reply, it wasn't because he lost interest, but because he was too busy trying to find a way off the ship to give his full attention. When Rocket made his way back to the cockpit, with great difficulty due to the free fall, having failed at escape he saw all of his horrors come to life all at once.

The module exploded, the air through the com-link became nothing but white noise. As the Rack crashed on Halfworld in the safety of a lake surrounded by Nova Core soldiers, Rocket cried and screamed, wishing and praying for death. As far as he was concerned, everything that was his life had been destroyed.


	6. Chapter 6

"I am Groot"

At this Rocket shot up, fear and surprise overtaking him, the raccoon's breathing was heavy and unsteady, as if he were having a heart attack.

"I am Groot" Groot repeated, causing Rocket to look up to see the gigantic humanoid tree creature standing before him.

"Groot!" Rocket screamed, "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be back on the ship!"

Groot smiled and pointed down, Rocket followed Groot's finger and noticed that the tree being had wrapped himself around Rocket's body, using his healing properties to do what healing properties do, effectively curing Rocket of his injuries.

"I am Groot" Groot began once more.

Rocket shook his head, he wasn't sure what emotion to feel- angry, happy, sad, or a mixture of all three. He went with the latter.

"I don't care if you were concerned for me" Rocket berated, "You should have just let me die. Now we're both stuck here!"

Rocket stopped for a moment as if he remembered something of great importance.

"How did you get here anyway?" Rocket asked, "There's only one ship. Care to explain that Groot? And please don't let the answer be I am Groot, I'm really getting tired of translating."

Groot laughed and patted Rocket's head as gently as he could before speaking.

"Funny story-"

Before Groot could continue Rocket pulled his gun and shot him in the face, after this Rocket pulled out a machete and began hacking until Groot was nothing more than a mere pile of sticks.

Rocket's com-link went off seconds later; Rocket answered it as quickly as he could.

"Rocket" It was Drax, "We've got ourselves a situation here. Knowhere is in danger. Find Wal-Russ and then get back as soon as you can."

Rocket rolled his eyes annoyingly, "How I am supposed to do that?" he replied, "The gravity's too strong, I could barely control the landing."

Drax sighed, it was the kind of sigh one would give when thinking about a problem he didn't have an answer for.

"Let me get back to you on that" Drax continued, "Oh and Groot says hello."

Rocket laughed to himself as he heard Groot's voice in his ear.

"How you doing you big overgrown plant?" Rocket said playfully, "I just met your doppelganger. He's a real asshole, just like you."

"I am Groot" Groot answered in a hurt tone.

"Kidding" Rocket replied, "But seriously though, that guy was an asshole."

Rocket looked about his surroundings, for he was no longer by the crater in the middle of a desert wasteland, instead he was in a small wooded area with green grass and a small blue lake to the right.

"Put Gamora on" Rocket demanded

A shifting sound could be heard; Rocket guessed that Groot had moved away from the array. Gamora quickly took his place.

"Alright Gamora" Rocket began, "According to the lunatic we're on borrowed time. Now, do you mind telling me where I am? I'm kinda lost here, surrounded in foliage."

Gamora scanned the surface for any signs of greenery on the monitor; it came up with no results.

"You said there was foliage?" Gamora exclaimed, "According to my charts and the large window I'm in front of, everything's dead. There's nothing."

Rocket huffed, for this was the last thing that he wanted to hear.

"Great. Just great" Rocket exclaimed, hating himself for his own stupidity as he began to rant. "None of this would have happened if she had just listened to me when we left Halfworld. But no, she's dead and here I am stuck on this stupid planet with ridiculous gravity, low oxygen and my decreasing level of sanity!"

Rocket was screaming to such a degree that he temporarily lost his voice, becoming hoarse and increasingly sadder with each passing word until he was barely audible as tears ran down his face.

"Everything was just fine" Rocket concluded sadly, "and then she had to go and get blown up in the fucking atmosphere!"

More shifting could be heard, this time it was Quill. From the way he moved into position he seemed to be getting comfortable. Obviously he was intrigued, intently listening to everything Rocket had said since he made contact.

"Who's she?" Quill asked curiously, pressing for information.

Rocket let out a pity laugh.

"That's none of your concern who she is" he replied, trying to compose himself, "She's dead. She died a long time ago. It doesn't matter now. Like I said before, the past is in the past Peter, let it stay there."

Rocket stopped himself, for a moment all he was able to do was cry. Sadness and anger overtook him, it was all he could do to not lie down in the dirt and do nothing.

Quill sighed and began to sing.

_"Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand. With an equal opportunity for all to sing, dance and clap their hands."_

Rocket growled, for he absolutely hated Quill's style of music despite the fact that it took his mind off of things.

"Come on Rocket" Quill urged encouragingly, "Sing with me."

Rocket huffed annoyingly, insulted that Quill just avoided a topic that he brought up only to start singing to try and make him feel better. It wasn't working.

"You a real dick Quill" Rocket said in distraught, "I'm in the middle of a serious moment and you're belting out Stevie Wonder as if it's some kind of joke! What kind of friend are you?"

Drax pushed Quill aside, at the same time stopping the song mid verse. Drax spat in Quill's general direction and turned back to the array.

"The insensitive kind" Drax answered, "Now, Rocket, if you please. Who is this female you brought up?"

"Forget it Drax the mood is gone" Rocket declared, "I'm too mad to tell you about her anyway. Not like you would care about my life or anything having to do with me."

Drax was about to retort but before he could Rocket went on into a rant.

"You're a liability" Rocket continued, "You've always been one. Crying about your dead wife and kid as if that's the only that kept you going. Guess what Drax, I've lost people too! More than I ever cared to lose! You think you know loss?"

Drax nodded, "When my family was killed, I thought it was over. I wanted to die. I became something that I didn't want to be. Now, I have purpose, to progress humanity's existence."

Rocket laughed sarcastically, "Oh you want to talk about human progress?" the raccoon replied, with equal sarcasm, "Okay then. Here's what's been done in the name of human progress."

The greenery around Rocket slowly began to die; the planet was beginning to react. Breathing could be heard in the nearby tree line, Rocket did not notice it, too angry to give it attention.

"My parents, good innocent people, were killed to perform illegal scientific experiments in the name of human progress" Rocket continued, "I was created in the name of human progress. Ripped apart, over and over and over again, parts replaced, enhanced and taken away. My friends were executed after an escape attempt, in the name of human progress..."

"What was taken away?" Drax asked

The tree line fell to the ground, revealing the owner of the breathing to be a large bear. The bear was not a normal bear, for it was an entity, appearing as a puff of black smoke, formless yet its attacks were as real as Rocket was. The bear's eyes were red, demonic in every sense of the word. Rocket remained oblivious, the bear giving off no scent, a direct result of the planet taking action against Rocket and his behavior.

"Why should I care about humanity?" Rocket asked rhetorically completely ignoring Drax's question. "Why should I protect the people who took everything from me? Who killed the one person I couldn't live without?"

Groot stepped towards the array; he knew that if anyone could get to Rocket it was him.

"I am Groot" Groot said softly, "I am Groot."

Rocket nodded in silent agreement, "I wouldn't know what love is to know if I ever was in it Groot."

Groot laughed, it was warm and friendly, from a simpler time.

"We are Groot" Groot exclaimed, "You are Groot."

Rocket smiled, it was good to hear Groot switch it up a little bit. That and what Groot really said meant the world, if not more.

"Thank you Groot" Rocket replied, "It's good to know that I'm not a complete failure."

The bear raised its hand, ready to attack. Rocket, no longer able to cry, simply began humming to himself, this turned into singing.

_"Highway run...into the midnight sun, wheels go round and round on my mind."_

Quill, in response to this, joined in Rocket's singing of Journey. At the same time, Rocket began to move in a western direction. Gamora, meanwhile, picked up Rocket's coordinates and gave him directions. Rocket followed them without question and continued singing where Quill left off.

_"They say that the road ain't no place to start a family, right down the line it's been you and me. And lovin' a music man ain't always what's supposed to be. Oh, girl, you stand by me...I'm forever yours...faithfully."_

The bear, not willing to let go of Rocket so easily, followed the raccoon with every step he made. They reached the crest of a hill, the bear hanging back a few feet to access how best to proceed in the attack, Rocket meanwhile, took his time to look in the distance to see what he was going up against. Drax and Gamora at this point, joined in the song taking up the cue.

_"Circus life, under the big top world, we all need the clowns to make us smile."_

Rocket shook his head in disbelief that he was singing of his own free will. Nevertheless Rocket picked up the remaining verse, having developed a personal connection to the song. As he sang he continued his way down the hill, from his position he could see several ruins of former starships which told him that he was heading in the right direction.

_"Through space and time, always another show...Wondering where I am lost without you-"_

The bear was slowly getting tired of the game that it had started with Rocket and so charged down the hill as fast as it could. It was only through luck that Rocket casually turned around, saw the bear and ducked causing the bear to miss that the story is able to continue.

"You've got to be kidding me" Rocket said to himself, "Demon bears, just what I needed today."

Quill, Drax and Gamora continued singing as if nothing was happening. Rocket growled annoyingly, making a personal note never to sing when Quill is around for he had a certain energy that cause others to be sucked into the world of music to such a degree that everything else becomes secondary.

"Hey guys" Rocket said trying to get their attention, "Demon bear in front of me. Give me specs on this thing and I'll faithfully kill it with my faithful gun of killing things...any day now!"

He got no response, just more Journey.

"I hate you people" Rocket continued, grumbling to himself, "If I die, I'm haunting your asses."

Rocket shook his head and pulled out his pistol aiming at the bear, which began to charge a second time. Rocket fired until he emptied the clip, missing five and hitting the other seven, Still despite this, the bear continued, it was not about to be stopped be gunfire. Rocket resorted to his backup plan, a combat knife and prepared himself to be bulldozed. When the bear made contact it went straight the throat, temporarily cutting off Rocket's air supply.

The bear leaned in, letting out a demonic laugh, showing its teeth.

"You are a fool" the bear said in a gruff voice, gargling as it struggled through its limited vocal chords, "You think you can win? That you will survive? You only prolong your inevitable demise; this place will consume you, as it does all things in its path."

Rocket attempted to raise his knife hand, the weight of the bear however, prevented it. The raccoon, seeing no way out, closed his eyes and did the only thing he could do. Desperately and crying at the prospect of death, Rocket began to sing his second song choice, REO Speedwagon's "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore". He had heard it only once, thanks to a radio that one of the refugees from Halfworld had at the time, but it was significant enough that he remembered it. It was also significant because it reminded him of what he had lost.

_"I can't fight this feeling any longer. And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow, what started out as friendship as grown stronger. I only wish I had the strength to let it show..."_

The weight lessened, Rocket slowly began to breathe normally again, despite this, he still continued crying.

_"I tell myself that I can't hold out forever. I say there is no reason for my fear. Cause I feel so secure when we're together. You give my life direction; you make everything so clear..."_

The demon growled, sensing on what Rocket was doing. "You will not win so easily!" it screamed, "I won't let you! No matter what happens here eventually, in time, you will submit. All things submit."

Rocket drowned him out, in his head he was already to the chorus.

"_And I can't fight this feeling anymore. I've forgotten what I started fighting for. It's time to bring this ship into the shore and throw away the oars forever..."_

The demon got off Rocket's slowly it began to back away. At the same time, a smug smile crept on Rocket's face as he stood on his feet, once again aiming his pistol in the bear's direction.

_"Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore, I've forgotten what I started fighting for."_

Rocket primed the gun, waiting for it to get to full strength before firing.

"_And if I have to crawl upon the floor, come crashing through your door, baby I can't fight this feeling anymore."_

Rocket released the trigger just as the bear disappeared, evaporating in thin air. The noise from Quill, Gamora, Drax and Groot having stopped as they listened to Rocket's sad and tear filled version of REO.

"Thanks a lot you guys" Rocket said sarcastically as he held his hand up to his com-link, wiping his eyes at the same time, "You're real friends."

Before any of them could respond, Rocket turned off the com-link, deciding to continue forward in complete and total silence, virtually alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Cosmo shook his head out of pity, stepping down from the chair he walked towards Dey, who was still busy talking with the other dog, a golden retriever, about the Nova Prime situation.

"Any particular reason why you're not doing your job Corpsman?" Cosmo asked, "Maybe instead of talking to Davenport you might address the security situation, or maybe our rations, in fact _anything_ instead of what you're doing right now would be a step in the right direction."

Dey huffed, "And who are you to tell me what I can and can't do dog?" he replied, "Where were you during the fight with Ronan huh?"

Cosmo growled menacingly at this, "For your information big shot, I was busy doing my job! While you and the B-Team were busy dealing with Ronan, I was playing ambassador to the Justice League, the Avengers, the X-Men and the Legion of Doom to get some allies in the event of invasion and full scale war."

Dey raised his eyes at this, "The Legion of Doom? You realize that's a DC thing right? You're Marvel."

Cosmo shook his head again, "The fate of the known universes was at stake. Do you think I give a shit about petty rivalries? No. I did what had to be done to ensure that life as we know it continued to exist. Which is more than I can say for you, the only thing you've done since you got here is whine and complain about Nova Prime and Xandar as if that were the only things in the universe. In case you haven't noticed, we're dealing with an uprising here, so shut up, grab a weapon and get your ass down to the mines, I need people down there and need them down there now!"

Dey gave a hard salute and left as soon as he could, for he was not interested in having his jugular vein severed. Cosmo spat in Dey's direction, he found it difficult to believe Dey was in charge of anything, as far as he was concerned he was the least competent of Nova Prime's soldiers to ever rise up the ranks, even if it was only the lowly one of Corpsman.

"Davenport" Cosmo commanded, "Get Peter Quill back on the line."

Davenport nodded; "Of course sir" he replied as he made his way to Cosmo's computer, pulling up Quill's ship and accessing its communication feed.

_"The Keystone Quadrant"_ Cosmo said to himself as he read the information, having ignored it before, _"What the devil are they doing there?"_

"Transmission coming in from Captain Marvel" Davenport exclaimed, "Shall I put him through?"

Cosmo growled softly to himself, for like many he hated Marvel with every fiber in his body. He said nothing and watched as the transmission went ignored.

"Sir" Davenport said worriedly, "Are you sure that was a good idea? It might've been something important."

Cosmo nodded, "Important!" he cried sarcastically, "The only thing that Marvel would want from us is volunteers he can use for experiments. He's not welcome anywhere in Andromeda, he even so much as sets a pinky toe within the galaxy he's blown to Kingdom Come. Now, get me the fucking Guardians of the Galaxy!"

Davenport began to sweat nervously, for he hated it when Cosmo raised his voice at him. As quickly as he could Davenport got Quill's feed on the screen. At seeing Quill, who was still singing Journey, Cosmo rushed over to the computer, unintentionally pushing Davenport out of the chair in the process.

_"And being apart ain't easy on this love affair; two strangers learn to fall in love again."_

Cosmo rolled his eyes, patiently waiting for Quill to stop. He waited exactly three seconds.

"Quill" Cosmo began annoyingly, "Come in Quill!"

Cosmo was ignored as Gamora joined Quill in the singing of the next part of the verse.

_"I get the joy of rediscovering you, oh girl you stand by me. I'm forever yours, faithfully."_

Cosmo, to avoid ripping his fur out, began going over his breathing exercises that he was court marshaled with Rocket to take as part of therapy in an attempt to control his anger management. Granted, Rocket never attended the sessions, blowing them off for the other Guardians of the Galaxy and intergalactic exploration, something that Cosmo wished he could do more of, but never found the time.

_"It's okay Cosmo" _Cosmo said to himself, entering a pre-meditative state, _"Just let them finish the song and everything will be just fine. You can tell them of the urgency, again, explain the situation, again and then, if they actually do what you say, you can maybe, just maybe get a decent night's sleep."_

At this point Drax joined in, singing the high parts for some reason and with surprising accuracy.

"Who knew that Drax could sing?" Davenport said with a stifled laugh, which was immediately stopped by a glaring look from Cosmo.

"Sorry sir" Davenport apologized with the slight drooping of his ears, "Only joking."

Cosmo huffed, "There's no room for joking anymore" he replied, "Not when the world's apart. Besides, I'm too busy for such things."

"Just like you were too busy to see the birth of your nephew?" Davenport pointed out, "How sad was that for you, to never even see his face? It must have been heartbreaking."

Cosmo growled defensively, "What did I tell you!" he screamed, "Never, never mention it again, it was bad enough the first time around, I don't need to be reminded. But then I'm sure you would know a lot about dark pasts wouldn't you? I mean after all, the life of a male prostitute, let alone in the canine community, must be difficult, even for a golden retriever."

Cosmo turned back towards Quill.

"Quill" Cosmo roared, "For the last time, stop fucking around and get back here!"

Quill immediately turned towards Cosmo, his face defeated and hurt, from the look of things it wasn't by Cosmo's words.

"I'm sorry Cosmo" Quill replied, "I guess you're just going to have to have Dey arrest us. We're not leaving without Rocket and his friends."

"What are you talking about?" Cosmo asked, pressing for information, "What friends? Rocket doesn't have any friends, he told me so himself."

Quill shook his head, "Well apparently he does Cos, and he cares enough about em to go and get himself killed, which is more than I can say for what he'd do for us right now. He's looking for his former crew member, Wal-Russ, originally of a planet known as Halfworld."

Cosmo closed his eyes, refusing to remember, for he too was a product of Halfworld. He shook himself off and slowly pulled himself together.

"Wal-Russ you say?" Cosmo continued as he opened his eyes, "So the bastard's alive? Doesn't surprise me to tell you the truth, he was always too stubborn for his own good. Rocket and I could tell you stories, but unfortunately there's not enough time."

Quill raised his eyebrows confusingly, surprised at Cosmo's sudden change in attitude.

"Here's the deal Quill" Cosmo began, cutting him off just as he was about to respond, "If Wal-Russ is alive we need to get him to Knowhere, we'll need his strength. And if Wal-Russ is alive, there's a good chance that Angel is alive. She's...important to Rocket. That and she's a very good in the stealth department. Both of them will be excellent additions to the team. How soon is their evac?"

Drax moved in, "It won't be that easy Cosmo" he replied, "The planet's gravitational pull is strong. It's impossible to leave, they're trapped. Besides I think that-"

The screen went dark. Cosmo stared at it for several seconds before reacting, it was as if he were in denial that it even happened.

"Davenport" Cosmo exclaimed as he jumped out of the chair and moved towards the door, "You've just been promoted to security detail. Defend the outpost at all costs, hell's about to break loose."

"Sir" Davenport said worriedly, "What happened?"

Cosmo shook his head in response, for in all honesty he didn't know, but he was going to find out.

"Knowing them" Cosmo replied, "They're either dead or really close to it."

"Well what are you going to do?" Davenport continued, raising his ears, "You can't just leave. What about Knowhere?"

"I'm going after them" Cosmo answered simply, "Something is obviously wrong. And I can't let Knowhere's best hope go down. I refuse to bury anyone else Davenport, it's the only way."

Davenport saluted and almost immediately began working on getting Quill's feed up and running. Cosmo meanwhile, headed for the nearest hangar bay. No sooner did he open the door did he fall upon rioters, it didn't take a genius to see that they were looking for blood, their eyes alone were enough for that-black, cold and filled with murderous tendencies.

"Davenport!" Cosmo screamed as he shut the door, "Pull up the security drones and pray to whatever the hell it is that you believe in. We've got rioters, murderous rioters!"

Davenport nodded and started up the drones, only to be dismayed to discover that most of the drones were in repair, still damaged from an all too convenient mining accident.

"All drones are down" Davenport relayed, "What do we do sir?"

Cosmo growled annoyingly, "Pray damn it! Pray like your life depends on it!"

Davenport huffed, "I'm an atheist sir. I can tell you to pray if that makes you feel better."

Cosmo nodded fearfully as he backed away from the door, for the moment abandoning all of his training and simply letting the forces that were overtake him and bring him to his natural state of barking and whining. It was to the point that Cosmo pissed in his suit, but he didn't really care, he had bigger problems to worry about than a wet ass. There was nothing more to be done, Cosmo and Davenport backed away to the farthest corner of the room and waited, just as the rioters began banging on the door, with full intention of knocking it down.


	8. Is Anybody Out There Worth Listening To?

**Contains some strong language**

Is Anybody Out There Worth Listening To?

Rocket turned on his com-link. The silence was beginning to get to him. Even Quill's method of singing didn't seem to work, for Rocket only liked a handful of songs. To his right was a small hill, as he climbed it, in an attempt to get a better signal he caught something.

"Let me tell you about Rocket Raccoon. He's an asshole through and through. A heartless bastard that I'm glad to be away from, he used me, just like he used everyone else, to get ahead in life."

Rocket fell to his knees, for the voice was indistinguishably Angel's. He didn't care that she was talking trash about him; just the knowledge that she was alive was enough for him to breakdown and cry his eyes out. Rocket only shed tears for a few people, most of them were dead, the others being Groot, Wal-Russ, Angel and depending on the situation, Drax and Peter Quill. In fact, the only person he couldn't stand that was constantly in his life was Gamora, mostly because of bad association with Ronan and the disrespect that he often received on her end.

_"What do you think you're doing?" _Rocket thought to himself,_ "You're supposed to be tough as nails! You don't cry_! _Crying is a sign of weakness! You're weak Rocket, ever since Ronan you've been weak."_

Rocket laughed pitifully and shook his head in response.

"You're wrong Rocket" Rocket replied, "It doesn't make you weak. It only means you're human."

Rocket's inner voice laughed in return in the most mocking way possible. The civil war with himself had begun between Rocket's brain, which was producing his thoughts, and Rocket's heart, what Rocket was really saying.

_"Human!"_ Rocket's brain retorted, _"You're an overgrown rat. A lousy piece of shit that's all you are! Your girlfriend even said it herself, you're nothing. You can't be alone for two seconds without going completely insane; it's obvious that you my friend have an attachment disorder."_

Rocket nodded in partial agreement, for he saw no point in denying the truth, accepting it would only make him stronger in the end.

"Maybe you're right" Rocket continued, "But I don't really care. I know that deep down that she's lying, she cares for me...maybe she even loves me. She's just too afraid of breaking her own heart."

Rocket could hear Wal-Russ' voice, he could only make out a few words, for his inner voice kept interrupting him in its rebuttal.

_"You're telling me that she's exactly like you hotshot?" _Rocket's brain asked sarcastically, _"Do you have any idea how successful relationships work? You can't have two alphas together! They'd rip each other apart. There has to be a balance Rocket and you definitely ain't no beta."_

Rocket laughed pitifully; amused at himself that he would go that direction. As he slowly stood to his feet, Rocket began to move cautiously down the hill in the direction of the signal, which became stronger with every succeeding step. Wal-Russ was currently speaking.

"You know if you took the time to get to know him" Wal-Russ began, "You'd see. You'd see that deep down Rocket cares, just in his own way, I bet you that his Guardians of the Galaxy care for him just as much."

Angel could be heard giving her response, it was the kind of response that annoyed people gave when they've had enough of the conversation.

"And how do you know that?" Angel asked, "You haven't even met this Peter Quill before! He could be a ravager, or worse a serial killer."

Wal-Russ laughed, "I highly doubt that Rocket would be hanging around serial killers."

Rocket looked around hopefully, trying to see anything that would mark their location. The only thing he saw was more ruins of discarded starships. His thoughts immediately turned to the _Milano_ and Quill, guilt came with these thoughts. Deciding to act on them, Rocket switched feeds, temporarily turning off Wal-Russ and Angel's conversation in favor of talking to Quill. Without waiting to see if the signal was good Rocket began to speak.

"Hey Quill...you want to know about me? Okay..."

The wind began to pick up, kicking up a large amount of dust in the area; it was the beginnings of a dust storm. Rocket ignored it and continued on as if nothing was happening.

"A long time ago I had somebody. You might say that she was my Gamora; there wasn't anything that I wouldn't do for her...Now you know me I don't like touchy-feely romance songs, I'm not a good dancer and I don't know a lot of big words. Call it one of my many character flaws."

It was becoming difficult to see, as the visibility decreased, Rocket's voice increased in an attempt to drown out the wind. He still heard no response on the other end, so he had no idea if Quill and the others were listening, not that it would've mattered, for the wind engulfed all sound, preventing any kind of proper conversation from happening in the first place.

"By some miracle I had managed to get her to like me, at least a little bit. Part of me wants to believe that it was love, because every time I saw her smile something happened to me. I can't explain it, but I'm sure you know what that feeling's like Quill. But it wasn't love. It couldn't have been. We told ourselves over and over again that it was just business, we made it as impersonal as possible the first time. We never had a second."

Rocket took five more steps before falling into a hole, an easy ten foot drop. It would be difficult to escape, especially considering that he was alone and extremely short, which brought climbing out of the equation. For the sake of the moment, Rocket decided to be grateful to be out of the storm and into some degree of shelter and continued his one-sided conversation after giving himself a good dusting.

"Before Groot there was Wal-Russ" Rocket continued, switching topics, "He and I were products of scientists on a place known as Halfworld. They killed us, took some things off, reanimated us like we were Frankenstein's Monster and attached other things from other subjects onto us. My dick is from another raccoon Quill, do you know how fucked up that is? I mean I'm grateful sure, but it's the just the thought of another guy like me walking around with my dick attached to his body. It's disgusting!"

Rocket thought about his words and shook his head annoyingly, for he was always talking about how there was no one else like him in the entire galaxy. Before it was always a figurative statement, but now, thanks to time and the events of the Halfworld Escape, it was entirely literal. Rocket, taking full advantage of the mental break, felt the side of the hole that he found himself in, casually knocking the wall to see if it was weak enough to break and create foot and hand holds for climbing.

Just as Rocket was about to speak again, he heard the distinct crackle of white noise as the signal went dead.

"Damn it!" Rocket screamed, "Just when I was starting to open to you, you don't even hear me."

Rocket's inner voice reappeared, along with all of his doubt, insecurity and failure.

_"What's the point of anything anymore?"_ Rocket's inner voice began,_ "Why bother going on, when everything you do is doomed to fail? They don't give a shit about you. They probably never have and even if they did you gave them little reason to. You deserve everything you get Rocket. Every bad thing that happens to you from now on is your own damn fault. You're a selfish bastard, you've always been a selfish bastard and that's all you're ever going to be. You don't have friends, you don't have family. You just have me."_

Rocket shook his head in denial, he was not about to talk himself into depression and despair. In an attempt to distract himself Rocket turned off the dead signal and transitioned back to Wal-Russ and Angel.

While Rocket was navigating the sandstorm, Quill, Drax, Gamora and Groot were busy trying to figure out their next moves as the _Milano_ slowly made its way towards the planet's surface.

"Peter, we have to fight the gravitational pull" Gamora said, stating the obvious, "If we don't we'll be pulled in, then none of us are getting out of here."

Quill nodded, too busy thinking of a solution to give a verbal response, Groot meanwhile was doing his weird light bug thing, at the very least giving the gift of sight back to the crew. Drax smiled in approval, he was reminded of the time on Ronan's ship, when he confessed that everyone, including Rocket, had become his friends. Drax, in his heart, extended that to family.

"Thank you friend" Drax said happily as he moved about the cabin, trying to find Rocket's toolbox, "Now this should be a little easier."

Drax, upon not finding the toolbox in the main cabin, made his way to Rocket's room. Opening the door, the first thing that Drax saw was the large window that looked out to deep space and what lay beyond it.

_"You've got to be kidding me"_ Drax thought to himself, _"Where's Rocket when you need him eh?"_

Staring back at him was the cold and lifelessness that was Yandu's ship. Before Drax could even blink a bright searchlight fell upon the ship, temporarily blinding him and causing him to move away from the window. Quill rushed into Rocket's room, bringing the communications array with him and tried to the best of his ability to get Yandu's signal.

"Yandu" Quill said, yelling desperately into the receiver, "Listen I know that you would rather do anything than help us right now, especially after all the shit we pulled, but right now I need you to listen to me okay?"

Yandu came on the other line, his voice was gruff and obviously not in the mood for pleasantries.

"You tricked me Peter" Yandu began, "I saved you and this is how you repay me! We were family."

Quill rolled his eyes annoyingly, for Yandu was always using that small detail against him and he probably would continue to do so until the day he died.

"Yeah its real great Yandu, really great" Quill answered sarcastically, "Now shut up and listen to me. Rocket's down on that planet there-"

Quill gestured towards the planet as if Yandu could see him, but he figured that it was pretty obvious what he was talking about.

"Then go and get him!" Yandu screamed, "What do you need my help for?"

Drax grabbed the receiver from Quill's hands, immediately taking over the situation. Quill decided to let it pass for he was not about to make an already delicate situation worse through unnecessary drama.

"We can't, we don't have enough power" Drax explained, "We barely have enough to stay alive Yandu. Besides even if we did we would still be screwed! The planet has a strong gravitational pull, any ship that gets in too close goes down to the surface."

Silence followed, Drax assumed that Yandu was thinking the situation over. Groot casually looked around Rocket's room, his eyes falling upon the dresser and the picture of Wal-Russ. Groot caught himself wondering why Rocket would risk his life for someone that he hadn't seen in years.

"Two ships are better than one right?" Yandu stated

Quill raised his eyebrows suspiciously, "What are you saying? Are you offering help?"

Yandu laughed knowingly, "If anyone or anything gets to kill you assholes it's me. Not because they're lost on stupid overgrown asteroid."

"We're going to need more firepower Yandu" Drax noted, "We have nothing; we'll be exactly where we started. We'll need an armada to get them off there! It's hopeless. They are going to die. That is it."

Yandu spat on his end, he was disgusted by Drax's personality, which was a little too based in reality for his liking.

"Don't you have any faith boy?" Yandu continued, "You've got to try! And if you fail, take comfort in the fact that you get to die together right after I blow your asses out of the sky."

Drax huffed, he didn't expect Yandu to be the one to give the motivational speech, in fact out of all of the people he knew in the galaxy Yandu was dead last in the motivational speech department, followed very closely by Cosmo.

"That doesn't change the fact that we'll need all the power we can get" Drax declared, "You got any ships left from Xandar?"

Silence once again filled the airways, Yandu saying nothing and giving Drax an answer. With that Drax turned off the array and switched it back to Rocket's frequency.

"It's disgusting!" Rocket said with a laugh, just as the signal went out, his entire opening-up process heard by no one.

_"I'm sorry friend"_ Drax thought to himself, _"You should have let them die. You would have been better off."_

As Drax exited the room he picked up Rocket's toolbox, heading towards the generator room to see what he could do. Groot meanwhile, picked up a second photo that was on the dresser. It was the first time that he met Rocket, six months after the Halfworld incident, Rocket had just gotten paroled from prison, having lost the will to break out, seeing little point in life after losing everything so suddenly. Groot liked to believe that he helped Rocket out of the hole that he had dug himself, but he would never know without asking, something that at the moment was impossible.

Quill gave a heavy sigh and switched the frequency back to Yandu. As Quill and Yandu reached to some kind of solution, Groot, picture in hand, walked out of the small room and sat on the table just outside, slowly losing himself in his own thoughts just as the last of the light bugs died off, surrounding the Milano in darkness once again.


End file.
